


Catching Up

by editoress



Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Family, Gen, Siblings, catharsis then happiness, sibling scraps
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-27
Updated: 2019-08-27
Packaged: 2020-09-27 12:48:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20408008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/editoress/pseuds/editoress
Summary: Scrooge sets up a grand reunion between Donald and Della, the reunion they're long overdue... aaaand they're brawling.





	Catching Up

**Author's Note:**

> This work brought to you by the fact that I have a close sibling.

“Donnie!”

Scrooge had made sure that Donald was the first one across the threshold. Donald had been all to eager to go along with it; the past few days had been hard on him, and he had some idea of what was waiting for him back at the manor.

Just not that she would be waiting in the foyer with open arms, beaming.

Donald froze. Scrooge kept behind him and motioned for the kids to do the same. Donald deserved a reunion like this as much as any of them, maybe more. A few beats passed, and he still hadn’t moved, though his breathing had gone a bit funny.

Dewey tugged on his sleeve. “Uncle Donald, it’s _Mom_!” he stage whispered.

“Go on, lad,” Scrooge added encouragingly.

There was a breathless moment of silence. Donald took one-two-three quick steps and launched himself at his sister. Della’s face morphed from grin to grimace. Scrooge was just wondering what she was so alarmed about when he heard Donald’s hoarse war cry and thought, _ah_.

Donald tackled her to the ground, and they went rolling across the foyer. Della gave him a shove, and they were both back on their feet in a flash.

“_Where have you BEEN?_” Donald bellowed.

“On the _moon!_” Della snapped. “Getting attacked by giant bugs? So yeah, _it’s nice to see you too!_”

She tried to swat him, but he knocked her off balance. “Oh, yeah?” he shot back. “And _whose fault is that?_” Della tripped him up, and he face-planted on the carpet with a thud.

“Ach, good grief,” Scrooge muttered. In hindsight, he should have seen this coming. It didn’t occur to him to feel any other way about it until Huey took a few frantic steps forward.

“We’ve got to—!” Huey gestured with both hands, horrified, at the scene before them. He looked back at Scrooge. “We’ve got to stop them!”

“Who do you think will win?” Webby put in. The boys took such obvious offense that she fell silent.

Scrooge hooked his cane on Huey’s polo and pulled him gently back. “Calm down,” he ordered. “This isn’t the first time they’ve fought like this.” He didn’t add that the twins’ worst fights were when they had really upset each other. Right now, Della was being singularly bullish, and Donald had a whole decade of anger up his sleeve.

“I came back!” Della was protesting through gritted teeth. "Do you have any idea what I had to do to get back?"

“You _left!_”

She stomped her foot. “I didn’t _mean_ to!”

It was nice to see, at least, that there weren’t any real blows; they were pushing and wrestling like kids. Scrooge had half a mind to break them up—he’d done it enough before—but it was probably best to get it all out. Besides, even Scrooge McDuck didn’t care to get in the middle of the Duck family temper. Some adventures weren’t worth it.

Della managed to wrangle her brother into a headlock. Her scowl was as stubborn and furious as ever, but her voice was cracking. “It was an accident, Donnie! Stop acting like everything’s my fault! I fought every day to get back here!”

Donald howled and flailed wildly, but she had an excellent grip. “Did you even _think_ about it?” he demanded. He tried to twist free. “Did you even think about us—”

The twins lost their balance and tumbled to the floor. By pushing Donald away, Della managed to climb to her feet first, fists at her sides. Her shoulders were squared and her hair was all a mess. Donald sat up. He was so hopping mad and so teary that when he started yelling at her, even Scrooge couldn’t parse what he was saying.

But Della could. She always could.

Scrooge could only catch bits and pieces, like _the boys_ and _you could have died_ and about half a dozen instances of _why_. The poor lad was huffing somewhere between fury and outright crying. Donald caught his breath enough to be coherent when he finished with, “I thought you were _gone_.”

Della wordlessly dropped her fighting stance. Donald swiped a sleeve across his face and turned his back to all of them, sniffling miserably.

When Scrooge looked down, four wee faces were staring up at him, waiting for his cue. He cleared his throat. “Come along,” he said quietly. He reached out and started ushering them back outside. “Let’s give them a moment.” The kids made a sight, trying to squeeze backwards through the door while peering at the twins. He prodded Dewey. “Enough staring. They’ll be fine. Move, move, move, the lot of you.”

But Scrooge, too, glanced over his shoulder just before the door closed.

* * *

It was quiet for a long time. Long enough to stop being enraged and start thinking, _Great, I blew it_.

Donald was surprised out of those thoughts when a weight landed against his back. Della was sitting just behind him so they were back to back. “I’m sorry, Don.”

He started. “Huh?”

She sighed explosively. “You’re right; it was stupid! It was so stupid. I should never have gone up.” He felt her take a deep breath. “I wish… I’ve wished for years that I could undo it.”

“No time travel,” he warned.

“You know what I mean. I just…”

Donald stretched his legs out in front of him and slumped back against her. “I’m sorry, too,” he admitted. “You’ve been through enough without me trying to make you feel bad about it. I know that.”

She gave a watery sniffle. “You wanna know why I did it? Part of it, anyway.”

He turned his head toward her. He still couldn’t see anything except her hand, braced against the floor.

“I wanted to do something brave so I wouldn’t be scared. I was so excited to be a mom. Really, really excited. But I was also afraid I wouldn’t be good at it.”

“You’re good at everything,” Donald grumbled, but it was something like his usual grumble.

She laughed, a little high and hiccupy but honest. “I’m kind of awful at this so far,” she told him.

"You've never done it before."

"Maybe that's why you're so good at it. Donnie... I wanted to tell you thank you. You did such a good job with the boys.”

He shrugged, glad she could feel that without seeing that he was blushing. “They’re good boys,” he explained fondly.

“Yeah. They really are.”

Donald scrubbed his face dry. “I know you wouldn’t have left them on purpose, Della.”

“I wouldn’t have left you, either,” she added hastily. “I really could’ve used you on the moon.” She backpedaled frantically. “Not that I wished you were on the moon. And at least I knew you were alive, so—”

He snickered. And then he spun and hugged her fiercely around the shoulders. “I missed you, too.”

Della tried in vain to wiggle free. “No fair! I want to hug you back!”

“Nope!” he said gleefully, squeezing her tighter. “I thought you were dead, so I get to hug you first.” She laughed.

“_Stop fighting!_” wailed Dewey’s voice. And there were all three of the boys, huddled together in the doorway. They all had on their most pleading expressions. Della melted at the sight. What a sucker.

Donald let go of her. “It’s okay,” he assured them, “you can come in. We’re not fighting.” That was when Della tackled him backwards.

“Wow,” she teased, arms wrapped tight around his middle, “you let your guard down. Some adventurer.”

He snorted. “I’m out of practice. Aw, Dewey, no—!”

But it was too late. In half a second, Donald was at the bottom of a pile, crushed by his sister and three nephews who were so eager to join the affection that they didn’t care where they stepped. He was going to get more bruises from this than from scrapping with Della.

But when the cavalry stepped in to rescue him, he must have been beaming like a lunatic, because Uncle Scrooge had never looked happier.


End file.
